Linda WARK

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WARK: Linda May Wark (nee Baskerville), 1944 - 2020. Linda May Wark (nee Baskerville), was born on July 10, 1944 to Harold and May Baskerville of Boissevain. As farm kids, she and her younger brother, Barry, were raised to work hard and uphold their promises, and those characteristics lasted her entire life. Mom attended Bluevale School for elementary and Boissevain Collegiate for high school. After high school, Mom moved to the YWCA in Brandon and worked in the Brandon Woolen Mills while attending Brandon Business College. Mom then moved to Killarney and worked in the bank until she and our dad, Murray Wark, got married on July 25, 1964. They settled in Brandon and had three children: Darwin, Treva, and Loralea. On weekends in the spring and summer the family would go camping, and later to the cabin at Minnedosa, and there are many good memories from those trips. Mom loved the outdoors, especially trees, flowers, and birds, and she enjoyed nothing more than to sit at a campsite and read while eating campfire toast. Throughout her life Mom was a tireless volunteer, firmly believing that our world is a better place when people give their time to others. She served as Brown Owl and Den Mother, taught Sunday School, and was a parent volunteer at our elementary schools. She canvassed for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society for decades and served on the Boards for the Brandon Christmas Cheer Registry and the MS Society. She was an active member of the Brandon Crocus Lions Club and loved volunteering at the Boundary Trails Health Centre. She was always doing something for someone else, and she taught us the importance of being kind and generous. Mom worked at the Panhandler, then moved on to be a receptionist for Dr. Larry Zoerb and later Dr. Trudy Corbett. Mom was excellent at those jobs because she loved talking to people, could start conversations with anyone, and she was always willing to listen. She was non-judgmental and warm and genuine and had a heart of pure gold. When Dad was diagnosed with MS, Mom was our rock, and when he died, Mom taught us how to cope with a loss with grace and grit: grieve, but remember that life goes on, and while you can mourn for the memories that will no longer be made together, you can never stop making those memories for yourself. While Mom’s heart was pure gold, her backbone was solid steel. After Mom met Leo Dupuis, she moved to Emerson with him. They enjoyed many years together, spending several winters in the USA in Leo’s fifth wheel. When Leo was diagnosed with cancer Mom once again assumed the role of caregiver with grace and love, never once complaining about life being hard or unfair: she always looked for the positive in any situation. They moved to Morden, and after Leo’s death Mom began to establish a circle of friends here, becoming actively involved in St. Paul’s United Church and the Morden Activity Centre. Mom had a wide variety of interests and hobbies that included reading, cooking, baking, sewing, playing games, walking and needlework. She loved to travel, and we kids will look back fondly on all of our adventures together, especially our family vacation to Nova Scotia and PEI last summer for Mom’s 75th birthday. Mom had a special bond with each of us three kids, and with her son-in-law, Duncan. Her favourite children, however, were her granddaughters, Kaylee and Kamryn. Mom cherished family and always said that it didn’t matter how much money you had, if you had a close relationship with your family you had everything. Mom was a beloved neighbour and friend, and this is evidenced in the outpouring of love and support we have received since her sudden passing on April 23. Some of Mom’s best friends - Shirley, Noreen, and Margaret - have been friends for over 60 years. Other friendships - Erle and Julie, Gail and Gordie, Dave and Verna, Edna, and Joan - were forged in Brandon over 50 years ago. Some - Sandra and Rob, Evelyn, Dora, Aileen, Cheryl, and Dennis - were made in the last decade. Through all of these friendships, Mom taught us the importance of being a true and loyal friend, and the value in shared laughter and tears over coffee and something good to eat. The lessons Mom has taught us about how to be good people, how to treat others, and what is important in life are things we will carry with us forever. We cannot begin to express how much she will be missed by us, and by the wide group of family and friends she leaves behind. Mom was predeceased by her parents, her husbands, Murray and Leo and several of Murray’s brothers and their wives. She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Darwin, Treva, Duncan, and Loralea, granddaughters, Kaylee and Kamryn, brother, Barry Baskerville, brother-in-law, Ken Wark, her sisters-in-law, Helen Wark and Bobbi Wark, her aunt, Melrose, the friends she considered her siblings, numerous nieces and nephews, cousins, an extended Wark family and countless friends. A memorial service will be held as soon as pandemic restrictions loosen enough for us to have one. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Linda’s memory to Katie Cares or to the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation.Wiebe Funeral Chapel, Mordenin care of arrangementswiebefuneralhomes.com

As published in Brandon Sun on Apr 28, 2020